HAPPY NEW YEAR

Monday, January 13, 2014

Sunnybonani from a very hot Joburg in January. Happy New Year to you all, I trust you had a fantastic break and that you're ready to begin this year with enough fuel to help you walk firmly and boldly towards your goals.

To be honest, I'm really over the look of this blog and was anticipating a new look by now but I have to wait about two more weeks before the big reveal. FML. It's going to be worth it though. I've been writing and collecting some good content to share but I only want to reveal it with the new look so please be patient with me for the next few weeks. I beg!

How was everybody's holiday? I had a really short but really nice break in East London with the fam then a little getaway with my sisters to an amazing place called Hole in The Wall in the Transkei. I'll post pics of that in a follow up post. It's a really beautiful and completely untouched place where there were miraculously only about 100 people on the beach on the 1st. Naturally, because I'm really intense I went out to the beach at about 5am on the 1st of Jan to reflect on the last year and plan the next year. I made a list of things that I did in 2013 that deserve to be remembered, whether they were good or bad and I'm going to share some of them with you because I feel like we need to give ourselves a break sometimes. I'm so hard on myself. There's a self flagellation whip that lives under my bed and I hope to burn it this year and just enjoy growing up. I highly recommend making such a list to put things in perspective, to track your progress or your stagnation as a person and of course, as a good reason to make a new list for 2014.

List of memorable things that I did:

Closed the shop

Said goodbye to old friendships that had run their course

Got myself into and out of a depression

Became a member of The Group

Got the Joop Campaign

Got to work with the wonderful Siphiwe Mpye

Bought a new car (goodbye Goy)

Went on shitty date but at least I got asked out old school style

Moved to a new place

Had 4 teeth removed

Worked for a 9 - 5 and quit after 1 month

Increased my salary

Didn't travel enough

Practiced tolerance and failed especially towards the end of the year

Established my politics

Overcame loneliness

Closed the door on my 7 year old fashion career

Joined the gym

Stopped wishing I wasn't single

Met a really cute boy and dived into a whirlwind romance

Had great sex after 16 months of virginal tendencies

Wrote more

Partied less

Vomited one night when I was out and got kicked out of a brothel

Finally chose a signature drink - Whiskey & Soda

Made some really lovely new friends

Had 12 hour conversations

Went after my crush and got total bat

Found a new passion

I probably toned down my feminist streak :-(

Understood South Africa better

Became unpleasantly competitive at 30 Seconds

Got mad

Learned the rap lyrics to Benz Punany

Spent more time alone

Got published in the City Press

Became more vulnerable and less cool

And finally, In the best night of 2013, met and hung out with Skunk Anansie and an hour later, just when I thought the night couldn't get any better, met and chilled with Idris Elba and sang with him, Thandiswa and Maverick Sabre.

My 2014 list is private at this point so I won't share that until the beginning of 2015 but the biggest goals for 2014 are these two:

I want to live, as in not die.

I want to feel no guilt unless I have done something wrong.

Here's to a splendid year you guys. Thanks for giving me a reason to love life even more. I promise to make this better this year.

I remember thinking to myself - "the nerve" when you stood up at the Captivate Conference in 2006 to tell Zam Nkosi that you were going to take the fashion world by storm after he'd asked what our futures held in store for us. About a year later (my timing could be off) I saw you in a magazine and the title read "SA Fashion Week spokesperson/fashion assistant".

I was so amazed but not surprised as you spoke with such conviction that day at the conference. Well done! I hope the same conviction and determination leads to success in your next endeavour ;-)